Dying to Leave (2003)

Directed by Chris Hilton and Aaron Woolf

Dying to Leave explores the current worldwide boom in illicit migration and human trafficking.Every year, an estimated two to four million people are shipped in containers,shepherded through sewage pipes, secreted in car chassis, and ferried across frigid waters. Others travel on legitimate carriers but with forged documents.An alarming number of these migrants end up in bondage, forced to work as prostitutes, thieves, or as laborers in sweatshops. By listening to the voices of those who pulled up their roots and risked all, the film puts a human face on what might other wise be seen as statistical, overwhelming and remote, and reveals the circumstances that drove these migrants from their homes, the difficulties involved in their epic journeys, and what awaits them in their new world.